PFID-F&V major resources provide important information, networking opportunities and are a source of top of the line training personnel. Examples of these resources are explained as follows.
1) Market information resources from major international markets and countries. This information is seldom supplied by national market information systems, especialized magazines in the produce business and consultant reports. Examples of this resources include USDA/AMS, the Produce Marketing Association, the Food Marketing Institute, The Packer, The Product News, The Fresh Produce Journal, specialized produce news websites and others. The links to some of these resources are found below.
www.usda.gov/ams
www.pma.com
www.fmi.org
www.thepacker.com
www.theproducenews.com
www.freshinfo.com
www.perishablepundit.com
2) Networking resources are key to PFID-F&V. In general, these are other NGO's involved in international development, key informants from major donor programs, and regular publications from academic institutions. Examples of these resources are the Gates Foundation, the Central American Economic Integration Bank, INCAE Business School, and social responsibility branches of large private companies and multinationals.
3) Training resources. The most important pool of training resources is the MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR). The top four departments and units with which PFID-F&V collaborates are The School of Packaging, Entomology, Agricultural Economics, Community, Agriculture and Resource Studies. Other units and departments have provided important support in past projects.
